Roquette Sees Potential In Microalgae

As part of its 40 million euro a year R&D investment programme, starch giant Roquette is planning an extra focus on microalgae as a nutritional ingredient.

Company Chairman Marc Roquette said: "We have added microalgae as a new raw material".

"We have the objective of becoming a major player in the domain of microalgae serving nutrition and health", he added.

He argues that microalgae has a huge potential for nutrition and health and is an abundant and natural resource. Furthermore, microalgae is rich in protein, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and omega-3.

Roquette is collaborating with INRA, Pierre Fabre, IFREMER and specialised start-up companies. The company is expecting that products containing microalgae could hit the market in 3 or 4 years time.